Yes, it’s early, but clear Dec. 21 for a movie binge

OK, we’ve just entered the yearly season of pumpkin spice, with candy corn and costumes still lurking beyond the horizon And then stuffed turkeys.

But, forgive me, this post is about Christmas already, to whet your appetite for a very premature Christmas present:

It provides an unusual confluence of calendar and cinematic events. The big holiday comes on a Tuesday this year, which means many will be taking extra days off on either side, perhaps all the way back to Dec. 19.

Predictably, movie-makers have targeted the pre-Christmas holiday week, the weekend, indeed, the entire Christmas week — and you too, obviously — for not one, not two, not three, not four, not five but six big movie premieres.

Maybe not overload for real movie fans. And they’ve turned Friday, Dec. 21 into the year’s most competitive weekend — and the very last chance to pad the companies’ 2018 balance sheets.

That’s a lot of popcorn! Our Ed Morrissey will be so busy reviewing movies, he won’t have time to buy me a new Ferrari. At this moment, it seems virtually impossible to avoid seeing at least one, if not more, of the new releases.

Here they are:

‘Bumblebee’– Not the insect but the big yellow Transformer, finally gets his own movie in an effort to reinvigorate the franchise. My wife is already cheering. It’s the first of, most likely, a platoon of Paramount Transformer spinoffs destroying even more downtowns with no accountability. “Bee, people out there need you.” (Dec. 21) Here’s the trailer.

“Mary Poppins Returns” — Not the Julie Andrews but Emily Blunt, who thanks to Disney returns to Depression-era London with her magical powers to remind the Banks family about the joys and wonders of their lives. Not recommended for diabetics. (Dec. 19) Trailer.

“Aquaman” — You may have missed this year’s shortage of superheroes. I certainly did somehow. But now AM is the next DC character to get his own movie, an origin story, and, of course, must face off with the inevitable movie nemisis, who threatens a war on the surface world. (Dec. 21) Trailer.

“Alita: Battle Angel” — Another James Cameron creation. Alita is a cyborg survivor whose partial body is found in a dump. Like Jason Bourne, she has no memory of her past. But something tells us we’ll find out as she does about the long-ago war. Oh, and they’re coming for her. “Then, I’ll face them head-on.” (Dec. 21) Trailer.

“Holmes and Watson” — No, not Robert and Jude. It’s Will Farrell and John C. Reilly and, as you might imagine, the Talladega Nights pairing provides a humorous version of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic detective duo. (Dec. 21) Trailer.

“Welcome to Marwen” — Robert Zemeckis teams with Steve Carrell, who loses his entire memory in a horrific accident. Amnesia seems to be going around this year. In an attempt to recreate his life, Carrell builds a wondrous toy town of powerful women who come alive in his imagination and allow him to enter for recovery and heroism. (Dec. 21) Trailer.